A life-changing meeting
by StineKJ
Summary: Kensi and Deeks met long before NCIS. Set when Deeks was at LAPD and Kensi was living on the streets, not a good summary but please read and tell me what you think.
1. Chapter 1

When Marty Deeks came into work he thought it was going to be just another normal day at LAPD. The sun was shining when he walked out to his car with Francis Boyle, his new partner.

"So it looked like it´s going to be a normal sunny day" Francis said as they sat in the car and drove into traffic.

"We have a 62 downtown, who will go down a see what is going on?" the radio interrupted what Marty was going to say and he picked up the radio

"A little early for shop lifting don´t you think?" Boyle smiled at Marty before he took the radio

"Station, station tell us the address and we will be right there" he said and laid the radio back again

" Address is 67 Lincoln Blvd" the radio went dead again as they turned around and made their way towards their first assignment of the day.

When they came to the address they got out of the car and walked towards the store manager who was standing in front of the store and behind him was a security guard who had a young girl not older than 15 who had a look of sadness and shamefulness on her face but when Deeks caught her eye she quickly looked away.

"Hello officer" The manager said and shook first Boyle than Deeks hand before he stepped aside.

"We caught this young girl trying to steal some clothes and some candy" the manager said as the young girl looked any were else but at Deeks and his partner.

"We will take it from here" Boyle said as they took the girl towards the police car.

When they got to the car they turned around and looked at the young girl, Deeks was the first to talk

"So… Do you have some ID on you?" He asked and she looked at him and rolled her eyes

"Do I look like someone who has an ID on me?" She said in a sassy and aggressive tone

Deeks looked at her and felt almost sorry for her, she was dirty and had holes in her clothes, her hair was a mess and her eyes were blank and empty. The young girl caught his starring at him

"What?" she spat at him before she threw her arms around her even though it was sunny and almost 25 degrees.

"I just want to know your name" Deeks said and the young girl looked at him and he could see her lip twitch a little almost forming into a smile but she stopped herself and looked down again.

"Kensi" she said low and she looked up at Deeks again

"Okay, Kensi… how old are you?" Deeks asked and Boyle looked at him

"Deeks can we talk private for a minute?" Boyle said

"Umm Yeah" Deeks said before putting Kensi into the car.

"What are you doing?" Boyle hissed at his partner

"I´m trying to talk to a young girl who clearly has a tough life" Deeks said and reached for the handle to the car but Boyle stopped him

"We are her as police men, not as a social worker" He said and Deeks looked at him

"What if I want to do both?" Deeks said as he opened the door and helped Kensi out of the car again.

"So… how old are you Kensi?" Deeks said as Boyle walked away getting annoyed by his new partner who thought he could save the world

"15" she said low before she looked up at him and pulled at her sleeves on her jacket.

"Isn´t it a little early to start a carrier as a shoplifter?" he asked but she looked away again and shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay, here is what we are going to do, you tell me where you live and we talk to your parents and figure this hole thing out" Deeks said and was about to call Boyle when she said something that made him stop

"I live over there" she said and pointed down the ally next to the store, he could see some boxes and dumpsters and he knew some homeless slept there so they could steal from the containers.

Deeks sighed, this was a new situation, she lived on the streets and clearly didn´t have any money so telling her to pay for the things was not an option.

Kensi didn´t know this man but she could sense he was a good man, a lot different from the other men she met.

He looked at her again but Kensi didn´t want to meet his eyes, she was used to be alone on the streets and she could take care of herself and didn´t need a policemen to help her.

She has lived on the streets for almost 8 months now and she was not used to people helping her without something in return. She had been arrested before and was kind of looking forward to spending a few hours or even the night in detention, away from the crappy and dirty streets, she was always on edge out here and she always had her backpack close with some cloths and a few things of her dads.

"Where are your parents?" Deeks asked but she pulled her backpack up against her ear and looked away, clearly didn´t want to answer him.

"Gone" was all she said

"Can I go now or are you going to arrest me?" she said quickly before she looked around not wanting to get caught talking to the police, that didn´t look good out here, maybe they thought she was a snitch and that was the worst thing you could do because everybody that lived on the streets needed someone to look after them, if they thought she was a snitch they would never trust her again.

"Do you have a phone?" he asked and she just nodded and looked up at him

"I will give you my card and if you need anything you call me okay, day or night?" he said normally he didn´t do this but he could feel that she was different, he gave her his card and he offered her a small smile when he caught her eyes, he could see something in them that he didn´t normally see when he talked to people that lived on the streets, look that said she didn´t want to spend her life on the streets, that she was just a teen who tried to make it though the day, but the look disappeared as quickly as it came and he could see that she was trying to be strong and hard. Deeks was sure nobody noticed and she hid it really good but he could see it in her eyes, he got really good at reading people when he was a kid and his dad used to beat the shit out of his mom and him, he could pick up on the smallest in peoples faces and he thought of that as a gift when you were working in the police department and had to read if people wanted to shoot you or just acting cool.

She took the card and nodded before she turned around and ran towards the ally where she could be alone and safe, in the ally there was only one way in and one way out, she could see everyone and everything that happened in the ally and she liked to have control over every situation.

When she had found a good spot inside the ally she sat down and took out the card and looked at it

Detective Marty Deeks LAPD

She put the card into her jacket and went on the hunt for food in the containers that were in the ally.


	2. Chapter 2

Almost 2 months went by but Marty Deeks couldn´t get the young girl out of his mind, he was wondering how she was doing and if she still lived on the streets, but he quickly pushed the thoughts out of his mind, thinking that he would never see her again, he was sure she had thrown his card away and never given him a second thought.

That was why he was surprised when he phone ringed one night around 11pm.

His phone buzzed on the table and he quickly reached for it, he knew that it was never a good thing when he phone buzzed this late, he didn´t have any family that would call him so it had to be work, or so he thought.

"Marty Deeks" he said with a professional tone but was met by silence that was strange so he looked at the number on his phone but he didn´t recognized it.

"Hello…" he said again and was about to hang up when he heard a small voice on the other end

"Marty… It´s Kensi… the young girl you gave your card to a couple of months ago, you properly don´t remember me…" she trailed off

"Hey Kensi, I remember you, what uhh… what do you need?" he asked quiet

"I know it´s late but uhh… I didn´t know who else to call" she said feeling nervous and embarrassed that she called him

"No it´s okay Kensi, I told you that you could call me if you needed anything, so please tell me what I can do to help" he said and he could hear her sigh on the other end of the phone

"I uhh… I got into a fight and I uhh… I hurt my arm really bad, I think it´s broken"

She said quiet and hissed when she moved further into an ally and away from the bar she had been sitting in 5 minutes before. He sat further up in his couch and ran his hand down his face thinking of what he should do.

"Where are you Kensi?" He asked and his plan was already in his head and he was already taking his wallet and keys on the small table inside the door.

"I don´t want to bother you, you don´t have to take me any were" she said but he was already outside his house and moved to his car

"I want to Kensi, please tell me where you are, I will pick you up and then we can go to the hospital" he said as he got into his car and put the keys in the ignition.

"I don´t have insurance Marty and I can´t pay them" she said slowly and he could hear she was upset.

"We will figure it out Kensi, just tell me where you are" he said and felt the sudden urge to protect her even though he didn´t knew her and had only spoken to her once.

"I´m at a bus stop on Hill and Temple" she just said

"I will be right there" he said and started the car before making his way towards Kensi.

"Marty will you… will you stay on the line with me until you get here?" she asked and he could hear on her voice that she didn´t really want to ask but she was alone and hurt.

"Sure Kensi… What is your favorite color?" he asked and she could not help but giggle at his attempt to try a lighten the mood

"Green" she said as she sat down on the bench and looked around to make sure she was alone, she looked down on her arm and she knew it was bad but she didn´t want to think about it, let alone how she would be able to survive on the streets with an injured arm.

"Mine too" he said and smiled as he pulled into the late night traffic.

"Really or are you just saying that to make me feel good?" she asked and smiled at her phone

"Both" he smirked as he turned onto the street where she told him she would be

She saw a car coming down the street and she was hoping it was him, her arm was killing her and it was cold.

He pulled up beside the bus stop and stopped the car and walked towards her, he looked different in his normal clothes but other then that he looked as she remembered him.

She sat down on a bench with her arm pulled against her chest tight and she was clearly in pain, he could see that and her hair was a mess and her cloths were dirty.

"Hey" she said as she looked up at him, her hair falling around her head.

"Hey Kensi" he said as he sat down beside her on the bench, she eyed him closely as he sat down, she was not used to someone helping her and she moved away from him on the bench

"Sorry" he said as he moved further away from her on the bench

"Can I have a look on your arm?" he said slowly and she looked at him before she turned towards him

"It uhh… It hurts really bad" she said and hissed as she moved her arm too much

"It´s okay, can I see it" he asked again but as soon as she started to take her jacket off she got tears in her eyes and her mouth were a tight line and he could see she was in a lot of pain.

"Okay, let´s just go to the hospital" he said and she sighed and closed her jacket again, she stood and he walked over and opened the door but when he tried to help her inside she looked at him

"I can get into a car by my self" she said but regretted when she saw him backing away with his arms raised in surrender

"Sorry, just trying to help" he said and she felt bad for being for hard on him when she saw him walking around the car

With a lot of problems she got into the car and closed the door, he started the car and drove towards the hospital.


	3. The hospital

It was a quiet car ride, the only sound was the radio and Kensi hissing when Deeks braked a little to hard.

"Sorry" Marty said quiet before looking at her and she smiled a small smile at him while she held her arm tight to her body.

"What… What are we going to do about the insurance?" Kensi said quietly and looked down at her lap

"I will figure it out, don´t worry about it" Marty said

"Oh okay" She said

Even though he said he would figure it out he still didn´t know how, but he didn´t want her to worry, he felt a strange feeling of wanting to protect her and he has never felt this protective about someone since his mother, he couldn´t explain it and knew it was stupid.

When they arrived to the hospital he parked the car and came around the car and opened the door for her, he put his hand out to help her out and to his surprise she took his hand and letting him help her out, he smiled a little to himself as he let go of her hand.

When they came into the hospital he asked her to sit down on a bench as he walked up to the front desk.

"Hello how can I help you?" a nurse asked him

"Hey is Dr. Johnson in tonight?" He asked and she typed on her computer before looking up

"Yes, he is on the 3rd. floor" she said before he smiled at her before he tanked her and made his way towards Kensi

"We are going to see a doctor who has helped me a lot in the past okay?" he asked and she just nodded before they made their way to the elevator.

When they came up to the 3rd floor, he asked a nurse who pointed down the hall and he spotted him standing and talking to another doctor.

"Wait here okay" he said to her and she sat down on a chair while Marty made his way towards the doctor. When he got close the two doctors stopped talking and looked at him, one of the doctors looked mad at the interruption but the other smiled at him and turned towards him

"Marty so good to see you, everything okay?" the other doctor left and Marty took a deep breath before looking at dr. Johnson

"Yeah" he said

"So what are you doing here?" dr. Johnson asked before Marty stepped closer to him not wanting other people hearing what he was saying.

" I was wondering if I could ask you a favor?" Marty said

"What kind of favor?" Dr. Johnson said

"I met this homeless woman some time ago, she called me a few hours ago and asked me to help her, she got into a fight and hurt her arm pretty bad" Marty said and didn´t need to go any further, the dr. knew what he was talking about.

"Where is she?" the dr. said and Marty pointed at the woman sitting in the chair hunched over and she had her arm pulled tight against her.

"Bring her in here" the dr. said and opened the door to an empty examination room.

"Thanks" Marty said before he made his way towards Kensi and knelt down before her

"Kensi, there is a doctor who is willing to look at your arm" he said quiet and she just nodded her head, the pain in her arm was getting bad and she was on the edge of tears.

He helped her up from the chair but let go when he felt she pulled back, they made their way to the examination room where the dr. was waiting.

"Hello I´m Dr. Johnson" he said and extended his hand and she took it and shook it slowly

"I´m Kensi" she said quiet

"Hey Kensi, if you will sit down on the gurney I will take a look at your arm" he said as she looked at Marty and he nodded before she sat down and started to remove her jacket but it was difficult, when the doctor moved towards her to help her she pulled back slightly and looked at him before relaxing and letting him removed her jacket, a couple of tears made their way down her chin as the doctor took off her jacket. When her jacket was off, the next challenge was her shirt, the doctor turned and pulled up a scissor but before he could cut she pulled back

"No, please don't" she said and the doctor looked at Marty

"This is the only shirt I have" she said quietly and looked down at her lap

"Kensi, I will get you a new shirt okay?" Marty asked and she looked at him

"I don´t have any money, I can´t pay you back" she said so quiet he almost didn´t hear her

"Kensi" he said in a low voice and she looked at him but quickly looked away, too embarrassed to look him in the eyes

"You don´t have to pay me back, let me help you, please" he said, almost pleasing her to let him help her.

She looked into his eyes for a spilt second before she moved closer to the doctor again

"Okay" she said before she let the doctor make a slit up her shirt.

When the doctor had cut open her shirt she could see just how bad her arm was, her arm was covered in numerous colors and was swollen, Kensi hissed when the doctor touched her arm, clearly it was very sensitive and sore.

"If you could put your arm out straight we will take an x-ray to see if anything is broken" the doctor said and Marty went over to her and helped her to put her arm down straight, she was hissing and cursing but finally her arm was resting on the table.

"I can give you something for the pain if you want?" the doctor asked but Kensi shook her head no

"No I´m fine, its okay" she said hissing

"Okay, I will just get the x-ray" the doctor said before he went out of the room, leaving Marty and Kensi alone

"You sure you don´t want any painkillers?" Marty said before he looked at her closely, he could see she was in a lot of pain.

"I´m fine" Kensi said before she looked at him but quickly looked away again

"Its okay to ask for help Kens, you don´t need to be strong all the time" he said quiet not wanting her to get upset or uncomfortable.

"You don´t know what its like, out on the streets, all alone, if your weak you die" she said with a sad voice and he saw a tear in her eye but she brushed it away as quickly as it came.

"I do Kensi, I lived on the streets when I was 12" he said but before she could question him the doctor came back with the x-ray.


	4. A new situation

The doctor closed the door behind him and took at seat before he put the x-ray up on the monitor and turned on the light and turned towards Kensi and Marty.

"We can see on the x-ray that your arm is broken, but is it a clean break and it should heal on its own without surgery" the doctor said

"Okay so what now?" Marty said

"Now we put the arm in a cast and hopefully the arm will heal on its own, you will need to come in, in 4 days and we will take a new x-ray and see if the arm is healing on its own, I know that you live on the streets bur I think it would be better if you had a place to stay for as long as your arm is healing, do you know someone you can live with?" the doctor asked Kensi

"Hmm no" Kensi said but the truth was she ran away from her aunt who she lived with after her father's death, she would rather live on the streets than with her aunt.

"Well we have a facility for homeless here on the hospital where they can live as long as they are healing, we have nurses and doctors who are taking care of you while you heal." The doctor said to her but she just looked down and played with her pants with her uninjured hand.

"What do you think of that Kensi?" the doctor asked when he didn´t get an answer

"I really don´t want to be in a hospital" she said quiet and looked at the doctor.

"Well we can´t have to living on the streets with that arm" the doctor said

"Kensi I know this sound crazy but how about if you come and live with me while you heal?" Marty asked and looked at her

"No I…can´t "she said and didn´t want to be a burden on him

"Why not, it really won't be a problem Kensi?" Marty said and Kensi looked at him and she could see he was serious. She wasn't a person who trusted other people easy but she could feel that she could trust Marty, but her stubbornness stopped her before she could think it though.

"I appreciate you offering, but you have a life of your own and I only bring trouble, so do yourself a favor a stay away, for your own sake." She said with sadness in her voice before she looked at him, he was taking back by her answer and felt sorry for her; a young girl who thought that all the things that happened to her was her own fault.

"Kensi I can see that you need help and all I want is a chance to help you" he said to her and she gave him a small smile, she knew that deep down he was a good man trying to help her, she was just not used to people helping her without wanting anything in return.

"I understand that you are scared, but I want to help you" he said again and she looked at him and nodded her head

"Okay" she said with a small voice

"Okay" Marty said and smiled a little before looking at the doctor

"So what do you say that we put that arm in a cast and then we get out of here?" Marty said to Kensi who only nodded

About 20 minutes later they were walking out of the hospital with Kensi´s arm in a cast and a sling.

When they sat in the car Marty turned to her

"So you must be hungry?" He asked her and she looked at him and shrugged her shoulder

"Yea, I mean a little" she tried not to sound too eager but the truth is she was starving.

"Well I´m starving so I was thinking that we could go for a pizza before going to my place?" he asked and she smiled before she nodded

"That sounds good" she said before he started the car and drove to his normal pizza place before they were heading home for a good night of sleep.


	5. Getting to know each other

The car ride to the pizza place was quiet, Kensi was playing with a plastic bag that held some pills she had been given at the hospital.

"You know I won´t think any less of you, if you take them?" Marty said when they stopped at the pizza place and saw that she had the plastic bag in her hand.

"I know" she said without looking up at him

"I´m going in to get the pizza, you think you are going to be okay by yourself?" he asked, but he already knew the answer as the word left his mouth.

"Mm yeah I think so" she said quiet and looked at him and giving him a small smile, wow he didn´t expect that, he thought she was going to bite his head off.

"Okay" he said as he walked out of the car and towards the pizza place.

When she knew he couldn't see her, she opened the plastic bag as good as she could with just one hand, and took out a pill and swallowed it dry.

When she sat in the car by herself she started to think, " _was this really a good idea? To trust a stranger? She only met him once before, but he´s a cop, right? Maybe I should just leave, run and never look back?_

Before she could think or do anything more, a door opened and Marty placed the food in the back seat, than he sat beside her and looked at her.

"you okay?" he asked and she looked at him

"Yeah, just thinking" she said

"Okay, ready to get some food?" he asked not wanting to push her.

"Yeah, I´m hungry" she said with a shy smile and looked out the window

"Then let´s go" he said and started the car and started to drive to his apartment.

When they got to his apartment, he got out and went over to open her door, with the pizzas in hand, she looked up at him and took his hand, before she slowly got out of the car and together they made their way to his door.

"So this is my place" he said as she slowly let her eyes wonder around.

"It´s nice, better than my place" she said, quiet and with a sad smile.

He didn´t knew what to say, so he just found some plates and gestured for her to sit down and eat.

He looked at her while they ate and couldn´t help but chuckle a little, she looked at him with a question on her face.

"What?" she said

"It´s just, you don´t have to eat so fast, I mean nobody will take it from you" he said with a small smile, waiting to see if he had gone too far with his joke.

She looked at him and for a second they just looked at each other, suddenly she broke out in a grin and she chuckled low, making him smile, happy that he had not pushed her too much.

"I know, just hungry" she said with a smirk before eating again, but he kept looking at her.

"If you don´t start eating soon I will ear yours too" she said with a smirk and he shook his head before taking a bite of his pizza.

When they were done eating, Marty was cleaning up and Kensi was sitting on the chair and holding her arm close to her, he could see she was in pain but knew she didn't want to to admit it, so he reached for the pills in the cabinet, and a glass of water before he put it in front of her.

She gave him a small smile before taking the pills and the water.

"I have made the bed in the guest room for you" Marty said as he sat in front of her in the kitchen.

"Thank you" she said in a shy voice, she was still getting used to being in a stranger´s home and she felt she was using him and his kindness.

"You okay?" he asked and looked at her closely

"Yea I mean… I´m not used to people being nice to be and not wanting anything in return, so I´m just getting used to this" she said and his eyes widened in surprised by the fact that she was so honest with him.

"That´s okay, I remember when I lived on the streets, you can´t trust anybody but yourself" he said and looked at her

"Yea" she said with a low voice

"When did you get off the streets and decided to become a cop?" she asked and looked at him

"When I was 14 I got into some trouble with some bad guys and was actually arrested, and they took me to the station, god I thought I would spend the rest of my life in prison, but then some woman showed up and she brought me to my last foster family. It was tough in the beginning and I still don´t know how they put up with me and didn´t leave me like the rest, but somehow they saw something in me and I´m forever grateful" he said with a sigh and looked at her and gave her a smile

"You know who the woman was?" she said and he shrugged his shoulders

"I never got her name, but maybe my foster family knows?" he said

"Maybe" she said

"Why did you decided to become a cop?" she asked and he looked at her and smiled

"My dad was… a bad person and I wanted to protect other kids from going through the things I went though." He said and smiled at her

"That´s nice" she said with a low voice.

"Yea I couldn't imagine doing anything else" he said and she smiled at him

He could see that she was getting tired so he grabbed a spare toothbrush and some toothpaste and gave it to her, she smiled at him and took the items that were on the table.

"I was thinking that you could take the spare bedroom" he said and looked at her closely

"Yea that sounds great, I can´t remember the last time I slept in a bed" she said low as they made their way into the spare bedroom.

"The bedroom is down the hall and to the left and my bedroom is right in there in case you need anything, I have put a shirt on the bed for you, it´s a shirt I got from LAPD so it´s new." He said getting nervous and not wanting to scare her away, but when he looked at her she was smiling at him.

"It´s okay" she said

"Okay, good night" he said before he made his way towards the bedroom and closed the door.

She was actually looking forward in sleeping in a real bed, she has not slept in a real bed for a long time. She made her way into the bathroom and locked the door before she started to brush her teeth, it was not so easy with just one arm but she made it work. When she was done with brushing her teeth she looked into the mirror and sighed, she was still not sure if this was a good idea and for a second she thought about running for the hills, but she stopped herself again. It would also be kind of nice to sleep inside and not worry about someone stealing your stuff.

She went into the spare bedroom and began to take off her clothes, the task was not easy but eventually she was ready to crawl into bed, he had put an extra pillow for her arm and she smiled at that. She crawled under the covers, and when she had arranged her pillow under her arm she relaxed in the bed, and just enjoyed the feeling of a nice clean bed but when she closed her eyes, she couldn´t relax.

She didn´t knew why but something was off, maybe it was the silence or the nice and clean smell.

"Just go to sleep Kensi" she said to herself and closed her eyes again, this time she could relax some more.

But sleep wouldn´t come to her so she opened her eyes again and sighed while she stared at the ceiling.

She was picking at the cast on her arm while she chewed the inside of her cheek, she was looking around the room and noticed how clean the room was. She got out of the bed and walked out into the kitchen to get a glass of water. She noticed there was a garden to his apartment so she opened the door and step outside the LA air. She took a deep breath before she looked up at the stairs and smiled, she felt lucky that a nice man like Marty would take her into his home, and help her when she needed it.

She could feel someone behind her and turned around and smiled at him

"Can´t sleep?" he asked and she shrugged her shoulders

"I just… can´t relax" she said and looked at the stars again.

"I remember the first night after I got off the streets, it was hard just to relax and enjoy a nice bed and not look over your shoulder every 5 minutes." He said and she gave him a small smile

"Yea I don´t know how to do that… relax I mean" she said and looked into the LA air.

"Anything I can do?" he said and looked at her closely trying to read her face but there was no emotion to see and it scared him a little

"I don´t know, the thoughts just keep running in my head, I can´t figure out what to do" she said in a slow voice

"What do you mean?" he asked and stepped closer towards her, she turned around when she felt him step closer, then she looked at him.

"It´s been awhile since I felt safe and I don´t know you but you make me feel safe, but that also scares me, because I have been on my own for so long I don´t know how to let someone help me" she said and he smiled at her

"I want to help you Kensi, because I have been where you are now and someone helped me and now I want to help you, you deserve better than a life on the streets" he said and she gave him a small smile.

For the first time since her father she had someone who believed in her, without a word she walked past him and sat her glass down on the table, before she walked into her room and closed the door, when she slid under the covers she had a smile on her face when she fell asleep.

Out in the yard, Marty stood and looked at the stars, he had never thought that Kensi would call him of all people. He didn´t knew much about her but knew he needed to help her, as long as she needed his help she had a place to stay. He wouldn't be the person he was today if it hasn't been for that woman all those years ago, he wanted to find her and thank her but first he wanted to help Kensi find her way in life.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the long wait but life have been a little crazy with moving to a new city and a new job.

Deeks woke up early and decided to cook them breakfast, he could only imagine how long time it has been since she had a dissent breakfast. He tip-toed past her door and into the kitchen to avoid waking her, he started to pull out the things he needed to make pancakes.

The first thing Kensi noticed was the quiet noise, she forgot where she was and quickly sat up I bed, prepared to fight off whoever was near her. She also forgot she had an injured arm, she cursed under her breath and clutched her arm close to her chest. She looked around the room and she relaxed a little before rubbing her eyes and she took a deep breath and tried to slow her breathing.

She got out of bed and started to get dressed, realizing it was really hard with just one arm, but she refused to ask for help so with a lot of problems she succeeded to get her cloths on, before going to the bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her hair.

In the kitchen he was almost done with the pancakes and was setting the table when she came into the kitchen.

"Good morning" he said and smiled at her

"Good morning" she smiled back and sat down at the table.

"I hope you like pancakes" he said before he put two on her plate and two pain pills beside her plate, her eyes lit up and she looked up at him and smiled.

"I love pancakes, I haven´t had them in forever, but I like them" she said and took her fork and took a bite before she closed her eyes and hummed

"These are good" she said and he smiled at her before putting a glass of juice in front of her. She took the pain killers he had giving her and smiled a thank full smile at him.

"I´m glad you like them" he said before he took one for himself and sat down in front of her and took a sip of his own juice.

They say in silence for a while as they ate, sometimes she would catch him look at her but then he would look away. The third time she put her fork down and looked at him.

"What?" she said and he looked at her and smiled at her

"Nothing, I was just admiring your appetite" he said with a smirk

"It´s been a long time since I had pancakes and it may be the last" the last thing she said with a low voice and he almost didn´t hear her.

"What makes you say that?" he asked with a slow voice, giving her time to avoid the question if she wanted.

"I´m not going to stay here forever, at some point I have to go back to the streets" she said with a sad voice, she tried to hide it, but he saw behind it.

"Maybe I can help you with an apartment, you can get a job or an education?" he asked and he saw her shake her head.

"You have already done more than enough, as soon as my arm is okay I´m out of your hair" she said and stood from her chair and took her plate to the sink and walked out in the backyard.

He just sat in silence and looked out the door and watched as she sat down in the grass and enjoyed the sun. He sighed and started doing the dishes, wondering how he was going to prove to her he wanted to help her get on her feet again. He meant when he said he would help her with an apartment and a job. He just wished she would let him help her, he knew how hard it was to let someone in, when you are living on the streets the only one you can trust is yourself.

When he was done with the dishes, he walked out into the already warm LA air and sat down next to her.

"I really want to help you Kensi, I know how hard it is to trust someone so let´s just take this one thing at a time, okay?" he asked and she looked at him and smiled a little

"Okay" she said before they fell into silence again.

He had the feeling she didn´t fully understand him, so he decided to tell her about the time he lived on the streets.

"Can I tell you about when I was living on the streets?" he asked and she looked at him and gave him a small smile

"Sure" she said and he took in a breath and looked forward

"When I was 11 my dad got so drunk that he almost killed my mom and me, he beat us around a lot but nothing like this. He beat my mom so bad she laid in the kitchen and couldn't move, I ran up to my room, I used to do that when they were fighting. Suddenly they were quiet and I started to walk down the stairs to help my mom, then I saw my dad with a shot gun in his hand. I froze and just looked at him, he yelled at me and said that I should run to my room and close the door. I did as he said, mostly because I was afraid of him. When I came to my room I could hear my dad yell at my mom, he said he was going to kill her and me. Suddenly I thought about the gift I got from a friend, it was a gun. I got the gun from under my bed and started to walk down the stairs. When I came into the kitchen I saw my dad bent over my mom and he pointed at her with his shot gun. My dad turned around and saw me, then he laughed at me, he said I wasn't man enough to pull the trigger"

Deeks looked down at his hands and sighed, trying to get enough strength to tell her the last of him worst memory in his childhood.

"I looked at him and then I pulled the trigger" he said and she sucked in a breath and looked at him

She didn´t know what she was expecting but this was not the ending she had seen coming.

"After I pulled the trigger, everything is a blur. The only thing I remember was I called an ambulance for my mom and then I ran, before the police and ambulance could come. I ended up on the beach and I just sat there looking at the water and the surfers. Suddenly there was a shadow and I looked up and saw a lady, she was short and smiling at me. She said she wanted to help my, she said she was an old friend of the family and she knew my story so I trusted her, she got me into the foster family that I grew up in"

Deeks looked at Kensi and smiled at her, he had tears in his eyes and she smiled at him.

"Wow, I wouldn't imagine you to have a bad childhood, you have this perfect life and you're a good man"

She said and looked down at her own hands, not sure what to say.

"My life is not perfect, but it´s good and I like the life I have now. It has been a struggle and very hard, but I made something out of myself" he said and smiled at her before he stood up and looked down at her.

"What do you say we go down to the beach?" he said and she looked at him, she wanted to say no but she could see in his eyes, that he wanted to go. If he could share this private story with her, she could go to the beach with him.

She agreed and they went into the house to get their things. She soon realized that she didn´t have anything to wear to the beach, the only cloths she owned was the ones she had on.

"Uhh Marty?" She called and soon he was in the door way.

"Yeah something wrong?" he was on alert right away

"Umm kind off, I don´t have anything to wear" she said a little shy and looked down.

"Oh, well we can go down and buy you some cloths" he offered.

She looked down and played with her cast on her arm.

"I really don´t want to be a burden on you, maybe I should find another place to go" she said and began to search for the few things she brought with her to his house.

"No you don´t need to go, it´s no problem. Listen we go down to the beach, find a nice shop were we can buy you a few things and if you really don't like it, we can come back here and just sit in the back yard?" he offered and stepped closer to her, she looked at him and he offered her a smile and she smile back at him

"Okay" she said slowly and they made their way towards his car.


	7. Chapter 7

As they made their way to the beach the car was quiet, Kensi could not stop thinking she was a burden on him, he offered to buy her cloths but she didn´t need anybody to look out for her, she could do that herself. On the other side she kind of liked having someone to talk to, she had talked to the people on the streets, but this was different. She didn´t have to play tough or anything, she just had to be herself, she felt accepted even though she had only known this man for a few days, she could feel he was a good man.

Her arm was irritating her. It was not hurting so much anymore but now it was just scratching. She was moving uncomfortable in the car seat she could feel him looking at her.

"My arm is scratching" she just said with a sigh before she looked out of the window

"Oh, sorry about that, then it´s not exactly the beach you want to go to, is it?" he asked and she looked down answering him without talking

"You could say that Kensi, I want you to be comfortable with me to tell me if there is something bothering you, I know it´s hard but I wound do anything to hurt you" he said and she sighed, she knew all of this but she still had a hard time trusting him completely.

"I know but I have just been on my own so long that it´s hard for me to think that anybody would want anything to do with me, when I was living on the streets, most people were avoiding me and the people who would talk to me were trying to beat me or steal from me." She said and looked down.

He felt bad for her, he had been in that situation and that was the reason he wanted to help her.

"How about this" he said and she looked up at him

"There is a carnival down on the marina, let´s go there and grab something to eat?" he said and looked at her, she smiled at him

"I would like that, I can´t remember the last time I was at a carnival" she said and he smiled at her and drove towards the marina.

They parked a few streets away from the carnival and as they were walking towards the carnival they passed some small shops. She stopped in front of a shop and looked at a shirt that said _semper fi_ , she ran her finger against the fabric and got tears in her eyes. Marty was almost at the carnival, when he realized she wasn´t beside him, he started to panic and looked around. Suddenly he saw her standing in front of one of the small shops, she looked in trance, so when he came up to her he just stood beside her, knew she needed a minute to figure out her thoughts. She noticed he was beside her and she took a deep breath before she looked at him.

"My dad he umm… he was a marine" she said and lowered her eyes to the shirt

He noticed she said _was_ but he didn't want to push her into talking, so he just went inside at she saw him talk to the person who owned the shop, she saw he was giving the owner some money and thanked him before going out to her again. He looked though the sizes and found her size before he took it off the hanger and handed her the shirt. She looked confused at first but then she realized that he had bought her the shirt.

"You don´t…" she started but he interrupted her

"I want to" he just said and she smiled at him before taking the shirt.

"Will you…?" she asked and he knew what she was asking.

He helped her put the shirt over her head and her tank top.

"Thank you" she said as they made their way towards the carnival.

"Your welcome" he said and smiled at her.


	8. The Carnival

As they made their way into the carnival, Kensi kept looking over her shoulder and around the crowd almost like she feared someone would do something to her.

"You okay?" he asked and she looked up at him and smiled a shy smile

"Yeah I´m okay, it´s just… when I lived on the streets I used to keep to myself, that way I wouldn't get hurt or robbed. This is just a lot to take in" she said and walked a little closer to him.

"It´s okay I will keep you safe" he said and she looked up at him and smiled at him, feeling a little better about the situation.

The weather was nice for a day at the carnival, her arm was momentary forgotten and she just enjoyed her time with Marty. She was feeling like a normal girl as they were walking around at the carnival, she was used to people avoiding her and giving her looks, but today people smiled at her and were nice to her. Suddenly they stood in front of a Paris wheel and Kensi was looking up at it and smiled, the last time she was on a Paris wheel, was with her parents and she was about 12.

"Marty can we go on the Paris wheel?" she asked and he looked at her

"Sure" he smiled at her and they went into the line, there was not many people so soon it became their turn.

Kensi went in first and Marty after, when the wheel went into the air, Kensi was stunned over the view over the city and the ocean. Marty looked at her and smiled, he has not seen her like this before, she looked over the city with a peaceful smile on her lips.

"It´s beautiful" she whispered, mostly to herself as she studied the view from the wheel.

He nodded but decided not to say anything.

"I ran away from home after my dad died, that´s how I ended on the streets" she said but didn´t look at him

"Kensi you don´t…" he started but she cut him off

"I know but you told me your story and I owe you to tell you mine" she smiled at him before she looked out into the warm LA air. He nodded and let her continue.

"I was really close to my dad and when he was killed I couldn't live with my mom, so one day I told my mom I wasn't feeling well, so she let me stay home. I packed my things and took a train to LA, we were moving around a lot so I had some friends in LA. When I got there I met up with my friends, I lived with them for a few weeks, when I was there we found out that my friend and her family had to move, her father was a marine like mine, so they moved around a lot. I wanted to move with them but if I did that, they would have to adopt me and I knew my mother didn´t want that, so I stayed and that meant I didn´t have anywhere to go, I was homeless. "

She said and whipped the tears away quickly so Marty didn´t see them, but he saw them and he felt bad for her, he knew what it was like to not have a home. He had so many questions but didn´t know where to start

"Why didn´t you move back to your mom?" he asked so quiet that she almost didn´t head him

"Because my mom and I are different, before my dad died my mom had an affair, she moved away from my dad and I lived with him, but since he was a marine, he had to go to Iraq to train some of the soldiers down there, he was gone for 6 months and I had to live with my mom because I didn´t have any other family. Even though I was living with my mom on paper, I used most of my time at school or at my dad´s house alone, I couldn't believe my mom just went out a found someone else and moved away. I was so mad at my mom, I lived with them after my dad died but it just didn´t work, so I left and I don´t want to go back" She said and looked at him with a stern look, he could feel she meant what she said, he just couldn't believe that she would rather live on the streets, than with her mom and stepdad.

He sighed and looked out into the city, her life has been hard, and she had been through a lot, more than a 15-year-old should. His life has not been perfect but he was on the other side, and he knew he wanted to help Kensi get there. He didn´t know why he wanted to help her so mush, maybe because she reminded him of a friend he once had, Rebecca.

Rebecca went to the same school as he did and one day after school they were in detention together for talking bad to a teacher. When Marty and Rebecca were walking home, they were making up stories up as to why they came home late, her father was much like her dads and she told him, he was not really nice and was drinking a lot, Marty knew what that was like so they made up a story that they were friends, that lost track of time.

Neither of them got into trouble when they got home, and they were friends ever since. Suddenly Rebecca stopped coming to school and one day his teacher told them that Rebecca had died in an accident at home, later he heard his mother say that Rebeca´s father had beaten her and her mother so badly that Rebecca died on her way to the hospital. After that day he wanted to help people like Rebecca and now Kensi.

After the Paris wheel they went over and got some ice cream, she still felt bad about him paying for her, but he seemed okay with this and seemed like he really wanted to help her, she couldn't remember the las time she ate and ice cream or anything that didn´t came from a trashcan.

"I talked to the doctor this morning, he wanted to see you tomorrow to check if your arm can get out of the cast" he said as they ate their ice cream.

"I hope so, my arm is scratching and it´s really warm" she said before she ate the last of their ice cream

"I can understand that, it does not look comfortable" he said and she smiled at him

"Your right" she said before they fell into silence as Marty finished his ice cream

When they both finished their ice cream, they sat and enjoyed the warm LA air and just watched the people walking around them.

Kensi was starting to feel cold, so she put her arm around her self to try and keep warm, when Marty saw this she took off his jacket and put it around her, she froze at first but he looked at her and smiled, she pulled the jacket closer around her and gave Marty and thank full smile.

"How about we go home, we have that appointment at the doctor tomorrow and its getting late?" he asked and she nodded before she got up and pulled the jacket closer around her.

As they sat in the car Kensi turned to Marty.

"Thanks for today, it was really nice" she said and smiled at him

"Your welcome Kensi" he said as they started to drive to his house.


End file.
